


a late night

by chlodine



Series: from tumblr [4]
Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, fluff again....
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 06:29:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16827037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chlodine/pseuds/chlodine
Summary: Nadine just looked so composed all the time, so hard around the edges, that the thought of her doing something as vulnerable as sleeping seemed almost unfathomable.





	a late night

**Author's Note:**

> originally: ["a romantic night in, chlodine style."](http://nadiineross.tumblr.com/post/178379079906/a-romantic-night-in-chlodine-stylemore-nadine)
> 
> im not dead but this fandom just might be

Nadine snored. It wasn’t loud. In fact, it was more of a soft, subdued scraping sound from the back of her throat as she breathed in.

Chloe hadn’t known what she expected when she took first watch back in the Ghats, Nadine getting comfortable in the back seat of the jeep. In a far corner of Chloe’s mind, she had figured Nadine didn’t sleep at all. Silly, she knows. Nadine just looked so composed all the time, so hard around the edges, that the thought of her doing something as vulnerable as _sleeping_ seemed almost unfathomable.

Still, she was predictably a very light sleeper, as Chloe had discovered that same night when Nadine had jerked awake at the sound of Chloe’s muffled yelp when a bug had darted across her skin. 

As time progressed, as their relationship evolved into something more, Chloe learned to tread lightly, loosen her stance, dance around corners. Nadine was an early sleeper and an early riser, and the opposite was true for Chloe, so she often found herself tiptoeing once the clock went past eleven.

At this point, she could travel through rooms in complete darkness without bumping into anything whereas before her apartment had simply been a place where she slept between jobs.

Technically, Nadine did not live here. There was no official moving of things and Nadine still kept her own apartment in South Africa, but they traveled as a unit more often than not. When Nadine returned home, Chloe went with her.

Unofficially, Chloe’s flat was where they stayed when they planned for jobs or needed a brief pit stop. On occasion, they stayed when Chloe visited her mum, but it was primarily the affectionately dubbed “flat-shaped office”. Nadine’s place was where they went when they needed a break from adventuring and had nothing new planned for a while.

Chloe missed the place and its strange ability to strike a balance between the comfort of a lived-in home and its meticulously maintained tidiness. They’ve been doing back-to-back jobs for two months now. After this one, she would be packing a bikini and booking one-way tickets to Johannesburg — she didn’t think Nadine would have any complaints.

She was pretty much done with her research anyway. All that was left was the execution of their plan and the selling of five sparkly pieces of jewelry once they were acquired.

She glanced at the printed out pictures of the treasure — a pair of earrings, a bracelet, an anklet, and a necklace. Maybe she’d keep something for herself.

Closing her laptop, she stretched out her back and groaned her satisfaction at the dull pops that sounded.

Nadine was on the couch, feet propped up on the arm, and her chest rose and fell as she snored quietly. Her face was bare – the butterfly bandage on her cheek didn’t count – and was the picture of serenity. An arm was draped over the papers on her stomach, crumpling them down the middle under its dense weight. The other was sprawled out so that her forearm was suspended over the edge of the cushion.

Chloe smiled and couldn’t help but take a quick picture from where she was curled up in the armchair.

She gently set her laptop on the coffee table, turned the shutters down, and unfolded the thin blanket that was draped over the chair. The papers rustled when she wiggled them from Nadine’s hold. She winced at the sound.

Nadine didn’t move.

She sighed in relief and refrained from pressing a kiss to Nadine’s forehead.

(Last time she tried for a peck on the cheek, Nadine’s eyes shot open and Chloe had almost tripped flat on her arse when she reared back in surprise. Nadine had laughed and apologized in a way that sounded like she would absolutely do it again if she could, and Chloe had rolled her eyes with a huff.)

Once gathered and straightened into a pile, the papers were left on top of Chloe’s laptop, next to two empty mugs. She turned and made to drape the blanket over Nadine, only she hesitated.

They were both dressed for a night in, so Chloe didn’t need to help her into pajamas. Hair sprung from Nadine’s messy ponytail, falling across her cheeks and forehead. Her lips were slightly parted and her skin looked warm from the orange-yellow lamplight.

Chloe’s mouth turned up at the corners out of pure endearment.

Suddenly, Nadine cracked an eye open and her lips tugged into a grin of her own. “Creeper,” she murmured through the heavy sleepiness in her voice.

“How long were you awake?” Chloe said with a snort.

“You moved my arm.”

“Oh, it was only _two_ seconds.”

Nadine just shrugged, flung her useless hair tie in the table’s direction, and shuffled deeper into the cushions. Chloe didn’t pause to think, only accepted the wordless invitation, mutedly giddy. She cherished these indulgent moments.

Sitting in the space afforded to her, she shook out the blanket for the third time and let it float down over their bodies. Then, she nudged Nadine’s arm up the couch and settled down upon it. Nadine’s other arm hooked over her middle like a protective barrier and she instantly melted deeper into Nadine’s chest.

Nadine closed her eyes again.

“I don’t know why we’re not sleeping in the actual bed,” Chloe whispered.

“We’re having a moment, you dickhead.”

“A _moment_? You’re basically sleeping right now.” She barked a laugh when Nadine shushed her, arm dragging up Chloe’s side so she could press a calloused hand against Chloe’s mouth.

“What happened to romance?” she grouched, eyes squinting down at Chloe.

Chloe smiled and kissed Nadine’s palm. She pulled the blanket over their shoulders and nudged Nadine’s hand with her chin until it fell back in place at Chloe’s waist.

“I actually think we’re great at it.”

“At romance?”

Chloe nodded, eyes falling shut. “Absolutely.”

Nadine exhaled through her nose, making adjustments when Chloe shoved her face into her neck, nosing at her collarbone. Her chest rumbled under Chloe’s cheek with her content hum.

“Maybe,” Nadine replied.

**Author's Note:**

> plsssss feel free to comment or hmu @nadiineross let me kno what u think or like.. ill accept any indication that chlodine stans havent all moved on
> 
> im rly busy right now but come february i think ill have more time to write up prompts!!


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